How We Got Where We Are: MCR
by MyChemicalDreamer
Summary: The story of how My Chemical Romance came to be. THIS IS NOT A FRERARD. OR A FRIKEY. OR A WAYCEST. OR ANY OTHER PAIRING. Rated T for language.
1. I hate Mondays

Gerard's POV

Okay, think of the most glorious way possible to wake up. Got it? Well, that's the exact opposite of how I woke up. I was disturbed from my dreaming by someone sticking their spitted-on finger in my ear. Without even opening my eyes, I knew who it was. "Dammit, Mikey!" I said sleepily, swatting his hand away.

"Gee, you gotta fucking get up! It's Monday!" he replied. I reluctantly rolled out of bed, leaving it unmade. I stepped over piles of clothes and other random stuff that was strewn about the floor to get to my dresser. I pulled out some random clothes and got dressed quickly, then combed my hair and walked upstairs from my basement fortress to the kitchen, where I made myself a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal.

"Why do you still like that stuff? It's for little kids!" Mikey said, grabbing a granola bar.

"If you want a ride to school, you'd better shut up," Iwarned. I knew that would get him; he's only a sophomore, so he can't drive yet, and school is like 5 miles away. I finished my cereal at a leisurely pace, despite Mikey telling me to hurry up every 5 seconds, and then we grabbed our backpacks and got in my car. We listened to some Iron Maiden from my iPod as I drove to Ray's house. Ray's a junior, like me, and he has a license but no car, so I drive him to school every morning. He was waiting on his front porch when we got there. He pointed out that we were late as he got in the car. "Better late than never." I smiled. As I drove the rest of the way to school, Ray started writing something in his notebook. Turns out it was a paper that was due in 3rd period that same day. We pulled up in front of Bellview High just as the bell was ringing. Fuck. We were late again.


	2. Coffee and music

Gerard's POV

We all bolted to our lockers, none of which were in the same hallway. My locker, much like my room, was completely covered on the inside with Iron Maiden, Queen, The Misfits, Panic! At The Disco, Avenged Sevenfold, and Green Day posters. Also much like my room, it was extremely cluttered. I hadn't cleaned it out since freshman year. I grabbed my stuff for history and practically ran to class, still arriving 5 minutes late. I took the detention slip from the teacher, not bothering to protest, and took my seat next to Ray. I could just tell today was going to suck.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th period flew by. Now it was lunchtime and I was free. I always left school during lunch to go to my favorite little coffee shop. The owner knew me by now; I had been coming every day since they opened when I was a sophomore. As soon as I walked in, he said, "Gerard, it's not that I don't appreciate your business, but you've gotta stop cutting class."

"Relax, Bryan, it's only lunch. They don't even notice I'm gone," I replied.

"Whatever you say," Bryan stated, rolling his eyes as he went to make my coffee. He knew my order by heart. He brought it a few minutes later and I gave him the money. "You know what? I'm in a good mood today. It's on the house." He handed the money back and I nodded my thanks. As I sat at a table and sipped my coffee, I suddenly felt like writing another song. You see, Mikey, Ray, and I have this band, Whispering Death. I sing, Mikey plays bass, and Ray plays guitar. I usually write most of our songs, and the guys are okay with that. I took out my notebook, which already had a fair number of songs in it, and a pen. I added a little more to a song I had started a few days ago, Demolition Lovers, and thenstarted a new one, which I called Headfirst for Halos.

Before I knew it, I had to go back to school. At least 6th period was my favorite class of the day, art. I walked into class a little late, but Mrs. McColl is the kind of person who doesn't really care if you're late, as long as you show up. Luckily, both Mikey and Ray were in my class. I spent the whole period working on drawings of some characters for a comic strip I was starting. Then the bell rang for 7th period, chemistry. Ugh. I didn't like anyone in the class, so I was the only one without a lab partner. Until today, at least. A new kid walked into class a few minutes late. I thought I recognized him, but I wasn't sure.

He handed a note to Mr. Wysocky, who read it and said, "Everyone, this is Frank Iero. He's new." He then told Frank to go sit next to me. Wait a second... Frank Iero! I did know him! We went to grammar school together. He was a year younger than me. I had never liked him; he was always sort of mean to me. I guess he recognized me too, because he had a sort of disgusted look on his face as he sat down next to me at the slate-topped table. In an effort to ignore him, I took out my notebook and tried to write more of the song I had started in the coffee shop, but I couldn't concentrate. I mostly just stared at the wall until the bell rang.


	3. People I once knew

Frank's POV

Great. Just fucking great. My first day at Bellview High and my new lab partner was Gerard fucking Way. I'd had enough of him in grammar school. He was such a little poser. All his fake emo bullshit just got on my nerves. From the look of him, he was still at it. He was wearing black jeans, an Iron Maiden t-shirt, Converse, and a studded belt. His hair was longish and in his face, and dyed jet black. He looked like he wasn't too thrilled to see me either. He was writing something in a notebook, probably a journal. I could just see it now. It probably said, "Dear Journal, Mood: Apathetic. OMG! Frank Iero's my new lab partner! Ugh I hate him sooo much he's such a little bitch!" I smiled a little at my Emo Song reference, and then went back to ignoring Gerard. 8th period couldn't have come fast enough.

English class came and went, then the final bell rang. I was ecstatic. All I wanted to do was get out of this hellhole. I sprinted to my locker and fumbled a little with the lock. Someone walked up to the locker next to mine and opened it in merely 5 seconds. I looked up at them, only to find that it was Gerard. In the same instant, he looked at me, and then we both awkwardly looked away. I noticed he had a lot of posters in his locker. Band posters. Actually, most of them were of my favorite bands. I tried to ignore the entire area to my right as I finally got my locker open, grabbed my stuff, and slammed it closed again. I walked out the front doors of the school, seeing some faces I recognized from grammar school along the way. Two faces in particular caught my attention. I did a double-take, to make sure it was really them. Ray Toro and Mikey Way. Ray still looked the same way I remembered him, his 'fro still as bushy as ever. But Mikey... I had a hard time believing it was actually him. He looked much more confident than he used to (when he was younger he would always be looking down at the ground, but now he held himself with an aura of self-assurance I never thought I'd see on him) and he was really tall now, even taller than me (though that's not saying much, because I'm only 5'4"). Then I saw Gerard walk up to them and they all walked to his car together. I then proceeded to walk home, my mind racing, not being able to stsy focused on the same thought for more than 5 minutes. I opened the unlocked front door and walked into my house. "Hi Frankie! How was school?" my mom called from the kitchen.

I thought for a moment before replying, "Interesting."


	4. Oh noes!

Gerard's POV

The ride home was silent for the first few minutes, until I said, "You'll never guess who my new lab partner is." The guys thought for a moment.

"Ryan Sharif?" Ray guessed. Ryan was a guy we'd met once or twice at parties and stuff.

"Nope," I replied.

"Miley Cyrus?" Mikey guessed, smiling.

"What the fuck? Hell no," I replied. They each guessed a few more people: some mutual friends, people we knew from grammar school...

Ray eventually said, "We give up."

"It's Frank Iero," I said.

"That fag who always picked on you when we were kids?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah," Ireplied, grimacing. We arrived at Ray's house then. He got out of the car and flashed a peace sign as we drove away. When we got home, I showed Mikey the songs I was working on and let him edit a little, adding some parts and changing words around. When we finished those, we started a new one. We were up until midnight writing that one, but only because we kept stopping to talk about random stuff, read comics, or play video games.

I went to bed, hoping tomorrow would be better. It was, for the most part, except for chemistry. Things were awkward between Frank and I again. We had yet to speak one word to each other. I bolted out of the room so fast when the bell rang that I forgot my notebook... but I didn't notice yet. I noticed around the end of 8th period. I figured I left it in chemistry, so I went back to look after class but it wasn't there. Shit. Frank must have it.


	5. Inside his head

Frank's POV

Gerard and I still hadn't spoken yet, which was fine with me. We didn't even look at each other for all of chemistry class. When the bell rang, he ran out of there like the building was on fire. I didn't want to catch up with him, so I hung back a little. I noticed he had left something in his haste: his precious notebook. Just imagine how many secrets could be written within its pages, just waiting for me to read! I picked it up and added it to my pile of textbooks, then proceeded to 8th period in the best mood I'd been in for weeks. I knew I should wait until I got home to read it, but what can I say? I'm impatient. I started flipping through the pages. There were some doodles and random notes about homework assignments. Then there were some amazing drawings of anime characters that looked like he'd spent a lot of time on them. Then, the best part yet.

There were songs. A whole bunch of songs. Complete with a staff and music notes above every line. And they were amazing, too. I couldn't believe he'd written these. They were so deep and insightful and just... wow. It took me the entire class period to read through all the songs. When the bell rang, I closed the notebook and went up to the teacher. I asked some stupid question about what we were learning, just to kill time. I didn't want to be at my locker at the same time Gerard was at his, or he might see that I had his notebook. I stared blankly at the teacher, not paying attention to her rambling. After about 5 minutes of going on and on about something-or-other, she said, "Does that answer your question, Mr. Iero?"

"Yes," I replied, "Thank you." I walked to my locker, peeking around the corner into the hallway first to make sure Gerard was out of sight. He wasn't there, so I proceeded to get my stuff and go home.

As soon as I was safe in the comfort of my messy room, I took out the notebook again. I read over the one song in particular that had caught my eye: Demolition Lovers. It was written with parts for a bass and two guitars. I really liked the second guitar part. I decided to learn it. See, I've been playing guitar since maybe 4th grade, and I'm actually pretty good at it.I picked up on the tune pretty quickly, and I pretty much had it within 2 hours. Then I stopped playing and just thought. I don't really know why I was ever so mean to Gerard. He would actually be a pretty cool person to have as a friend. But all this shit happened so long ago... maybe if I apologized and really meant it, he might be willing to put it in the past. Well, I'd never know if I didn't try.


	6. Wait, is that a good thing?

I was amazed at how much my opinion of Gerard had changed through seeing his notebook. He wasn't a poser. He was a genuine person. When I awoke on Wednesday morning, I decided yo personally give the notebook back to him. He had probably already driven himself crazy looking for it. Not only that, but I wanted to apologize, for everything. I had been a total asshole to him for absolutely no reason.

The day flew by and I was now sitting in 6th period. Then, I had a great idea. I took out Gerard's notebook, flipped to the last page, and wrote, "I have something to say but I want to say it in person. Meet me by your locker after school." I saw no need to sign the note; it was pretty obvious who it was from. I hope this works... Then the bell rang and I proceeded to chemistry.

I was nervous as I walked into the room and took my usual seat next to Gerard. He didn't even glance at me. I put the notebook down in front of him. His head shot up and his eyes were wide. "You left it here yesterday," I said calmly. His look softened, from anger to surprise.

"Oh... well thanks, then," he replied. He flipped through it, to make sure nothing was missing. The note on the last page caught him by surprise. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him read it. I couldn't read is expression. He closed the book and we didn't talk for the rest of class.


	7. Play me a song

Gerard's POV

Frank... I honestly don't know what to think of that boy anymore. We've always hated each other, and now he goes and does something nice. And on top of that, he wants to meet me after school. It occurred to me that this could be a trap, but I really didn't care. I've already gotten my ass kicked so many times, what's one more? I tried not to think about it during 8th period, but I couldn't stop myself. Then the bell rang. I walked to my locker, in no hurry, and when I arrived there was Frank, leaning against it. He already had his backpack on. I walked up to him. "Okay, what's this about?" I asked

"Well, I've been thinking..." he started (I felt the impulse to interrupt with a snide comment here, but I kept quiet), "I never properly apologized for all that shit I said to you in grade school... so, officially, I'm sorry."

"You really think I'm gonna forgive you that easily? It's gonna take more than that half-assed apology to make up for calling me an emo fag and telling me to go slit my wrists," I replied coldly.

"Fine," he said, taking out a piece of paper and a pen from his backpack and writing something. He the handed me the paper. "Come over an I'll show you." He walked away. Written on the paper was his address.

I figured why the hell not. I would go, but I wouldn't tell Mikey or Ray until after I got back. I didn't talk at all while driving Mikey and Ray home. When I went inside the house, Mikey cornered me. "Okay, what's wrong?" he asked, "And don't say it's nothing. We both know that's bullshit."

"Mikes, I've just got something on my mind. I'll tell you later," I replied. After leaving my school stuff in my room, I went back outside and got in my car. I pulled Frank's note out of my pocket and looked at the address again. I drove to my destination as slowly as possible, to give myself time to think.

I finally arrived at his house. I sighed before getting out of the car. His mom answered the door a fraction of a second after I rang the bell. "Hi there!" she greeted me, then called to Frank, "Your friend's here, Frankie!" She stepped aside to let me in and then closed the door behind me. "He's up in his room." I nodded and proceeded to walk upstairs.

His room was the first one on the left. I knocked on the door, even though it was open. He looked up from what he was doing and his face lit up. "You came," he said happily.

"Yup, " said blankly, "So what did you want to show me? He got up and walked across the room to where a black guitar case lay. He opened it and pulled out a white electric guitar with 5 stickers on it that spelled out "Pansy". He plugged it into a big black amp that was in the corner and turned down the volume to 1.

"Okay, here's the thing. I know I shouldn't have, but I looked through your notebook a little. I saw your song, Demolition Lovers, and I thought the second guitar part was pretty cool so I sort of learned it. I want you to hear it," he said. I wasn't even pissed that he looked through my notebook; I was too busy being surprised that he liked my song so much.

I paused for a second before saying, "Go for it." He smiled and started playing Demolition Lovers. I don't think he made a mistake throughout the whole song. I was surprised at how skillfully he played, and that he remembered the whole thing, only having learned it yesterday. In the second verse, I found myself singing along softly. I gradually got louder, until I was singing just like I do at band practice. By the time the song ended, we were both smiling.

"So do you accept my apology now?" he asked.

"I guess so. After all, it was 3 years ago," I replied.

"Can I ask you a question?" he said.

"Sure," I replied.

"Why do you write songs?" he asked.

"Me and Mikey and Ray kind of have this garage band, Whispering Death," I replied.

"That's cool. I assume Ray plays guitar, since he has forever. So what does Mikey play?" he followed up.

"He plays bass," I replied.

"Little Mikey plays the bass? No way!" Frank exclaimed. I smiled.

"Yeah, he started in freshman year," I said.

"Who plays drums?" he asked.

"No one, at the moment. My friend Jared recorded some tracks for us but that's all we have. We manage pretty well, though," I replied.

"Wait a second... you said it's just you three, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"And you don't play guitar, right?" he followed up.

"I don't play anything," I said.

"So how come Demolition Lovers, and all your songs for that matter, have parts for two guitars and a bass?" he finished.

"We usually don't use the second guitar part. I just wrote them for the hell of it. Ray only plays lead, though, so we have sort of been looking for a rhythmic guitarist," I said.

"I've got a few friends who play. I could give you their phone numbers if you want, or-" he began, but I cut him off.

"That's okay," I replied, "But... um... if you have time, maybe you could stop by during one of our practices." I took the paper with Frank's address out of my pocket, walked over to his desk, and grabbed a pen. I wrote my address on the back of the crumpled paper and handed it to him. He smiled. "Well I gotta go. I told Mikey I wouldn't be gone too long."

"Bye," he said as I walked out.

"Bye, honey!" his mom called from the kitchen. I laughed a little at how outgoing she was.

"Bye," I replied. I went outside and got in my car. Well... that went better than expected.


End file.
